Job  Board

POSITION OVERVIEW The Development Associate position suits someone who is passionate about data, and is looking to immerse themselves in a non-profit fundraising career. The position reports to the Director of Philanthropy and Strategic Initiatives. The ideal candidate is a critical thinker with strong project management skills and someone who is adept at using an equity-informed approach to data and systems to drive decisions. The position leads the gift processing process, and plays a key role in providing support to our major gifts program. We recognize that potential candidates with identities that have been historically excluded from the fundraising field may be less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every one of the qualifications as described in the job description. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply. ABOUT THE ACLU OF MONTANA The ACLU of Montana Foundation “ACLU of Montana” (founded in 1972) is an affiliate of the national ACLU (founded in 1920) and operates as a private, non-profit organization. We are the state’s largest and most influential civil rights organization. Our current top priorities are Indigenous Justice, criminal legal reform, LGBTQ rights, and voting rights. We work on a range of additional issues including reproductive justice, immigrants’ rights, freedom of speech and religion, and informational and digital privacy. The ACLU of Montana envisions a fair, equitable, and free Montana that welcomes and celebrates diversity of all kinds. In our Montana, everybody is treated with dignity and respect, and has equal access to rights and freedoms. The ACLU of Montana maintains a friendly work environment, with a current staff of 12 and an office located in Missoula. We aspire to a friendly work environment, with flexibility and consideration of personal needs and circumstances. To learn more about the staff and work of the ACLU of Montana, please visit http://aclumontana.org. COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION ACLU of Montana is an equal opportunity employer. We value a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture. We believe that having a board, staff, and volunteer base with diverse personal and professional backgrounds enhances our ability to meet our mission and creates an environment where all members of our community can thrive. The ACLU of Montana does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, faith, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, tribal affiliation, disability, pregnancy, veteran status, or record of arrest or conviction. We are committed to providing a work environment free from discrimination and harassment and one that honors and promotes a culture of equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging. We are engaging in ongoing internal racial equity work, with an emphasis in anti-racism and anti-colonialism. We strongly encourage applications from Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, immigrants, women, people with disabilities, bi- or multi-lingual (including Indigenous languages) speakers, bicultural individuals, members of the LGBTQ and two-spirit community, those who have been formerly incarcerated or are currently under supervision, and other underrepresented and historically marginalized groups. We seek to build a team that reflects that diversity. All qualified applicants who share this vision and who have a desire to contribute to our mission are encouraged to apply. We commit to developing and collaborating on thoughtful training programs and onboarding processes with the Development Associate that identify an individual’s growth areas, in relation to the job description, and empowers their existing knowledge and skills. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Database Administration, Gift Processing, and Data Analysis

• Oversee all tasks related to data quality and integrity, and the maintenance of accurate constituent records in the donor database.
• Ensure timely gift processing and acknowledgments on a weekly basis, including communication with donors, finance team, and donor database.
• Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual reports that use data to evaluate development department progress toward goals.
• Collaborate on monthly, quarterly, and annual income reconciliation between Salesforce (donor database) and QuickBooks (accounting software) with the finance team.
• Play a leadership role with annual income reconciliation with National ACLU, finance team, and annual audit requests.
• Assist with any donor database needs to support all stewardship, event, and solicitation mailings done within the affiliate.
• Participate in weekly and monthly National ACLU development learning communities and ad hoc training opportunities to keep informed of best practices, trends, and opportunities for program improvements.

Portfolio Management

• Execute strong project management of quarterly portfolio strategy meetings, including leading process of organizing a high volume of tasks for roughly 125 donors across four portfolios.
• Serve as the department point-person for annual portfolio reset process with National ACLU, and portfolio assignment decisions on a quarterly basis following department strategy meetings.
• Run and analyze monthly task reports for out-the-door fundraisers (Director of Philanthropy, Donor Engagement Manager, and Executive Director).
• Draft donor and prospect strategy memos for front-line fundraisers, including elements of prospect research.
• Support the Donor Engagement Manager by routinely evaluating the composition of their portfolio, and maintaining a qualified prospect queue from which to draw portfolio placement recommendations.
• Ensure accurate and timely data entry following interactions with donors.
• Gather technical information (financial statements, budget, board/staff list, etc.) required for grant applications. Work in collaboration with staff leading grant work to ensure timely management of grant reports and proposals.
• Support the Director of Philanthropy with Philanthropy Council activities, including coordinating calendars, helping to craft meeting agendas, learning to lead prospecting conversations, and converting ideas to clear action plans.
• Assist in the coordination of meeting and travel logistics for the out-the-door fundraising team.

Donor and Member Relations

• Update content of gift acknowledgement letter on bi-monthly basis.
• Respond to high-volume, basic donor inquiries via email and phone.
• Conduct monthly donor qualification phone call conversations intended to expose the Development Associate to front-line fundraising activities, steward prospective major donors with a touch-point, and identify possible new donors to include in portfolio work based on a variety of key metrics.
• Lead all project management and significant tasks (including some limited writing of compelling copy) for quarterly development department zoom Town Hall events, handful of intimate Donor Community Power Hour zoom events, and occasional development department components of organization-wide events.

Staff Teamwork and Collaboration

• Actively engage with the ACLU of Montana team through regular staff meetings, continuing equity and inclusion work, professional development opportunities, occasional retreats, and sporadic special committees.
• Participate in the Development Team as a cooperative, positive team player.
• Help maintain a positive, respectful, welcoming, and professional environment for employees, board members, community members, clients, and volunteers.
• Develop a solid understanding of ACLU’s structure, programs, office protocols, and equipment.
• Attend certain ACLU functions, including an annual board meeting, and assist in other duties as assigned.

Competency and Commitment to Racial Equity The ACLU of Montana is committed to and engaging in ongoing racial equity work with an emphasis on anti-racism and anti-colonialism. As a staff member, you will be asked to commit, contribute and engage in the following ways:

• Demonstrate commitment to building or deepening understanding of equity, in which an anti-racism and anti-colonialism lens are centered.
• Engage with the issues of institutional and structural racism and bias and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities.
• Embrace self-learning and reflection through optional racial caucus group conversations, activities, and support.
• Actively contribute to the thinking and execution of applying an anti-racism and anti-colonialism lens to a major gifts fundraising program with aggressive monetary goals.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS The following experiences are integral to meeting the job responsibilities. Please be sure to identify these in your application materials through lived, professional or volunteer experience, and/or coursework. Willingness and foundational skills to learn and work with a complex database that tracks donor information, for which extensive training will be provided.

• Expertise using any database, or large data-set, for data entry and reporting purposes;
• Practice with analyzing and synthesizing large data-sets in Excel;
• Experience using data to evaluate progress towards larger goals, and inform real life programmatic decisions;
• Exceptional skill with project management, specifically working within a team in order to move tasks along a continuum towards a larger goal;
• Willingness to, and comfort with, regularly communicating project needs and deadlines to supervisor, peers, donors / board members / or volunteers;
• Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy;
• The ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines;
• Commitment to good customer service, confidentiality, and accuracy of sensitive records;
• Proficiency with office technology, including, but not limited to Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, and Excel;
• Must be available for limited weekend and evening responsibilities;
• Commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging with anti-racist and anti-colonialist understandings of and respect for differences of race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, ability, and socio-economic circumstance and class;
• Commitment to building or deepening understanding of equity, in which an anti-racism and anti-colonialism lens are centered; and
• Understanding and willingness to engage with the issues of institutional and structural racism and bias, and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS The following experiences are particularly valuable - please be sure to address these in your resume or cover letter. We encourage you to apply even if you do not have these qualifications:

• Experience and working knowledge of Salesforce;
• Advanced knowledge of database reporting;
• Experience working closely in, or with, a fundraising department (in a professional or volunteer capacity), including a non-profit or political campaign context;
• Proven track record of responding to customer / client inquiries via email or phone;
• Experience working with a senior member of a management team, managing multiple demands and changing priorities;
• Comfort with writing compelling messages to donors for event invites or issue-area highlights, for example;
• Experience with events management, or support of events;
• Knowledge of philanthropic trends in Montana’s different geographic regions and/or specific donor communities, such as high net-worth donors of color; and
• Knowledge of and values alignment with contemporary movements in the philanthropic sector, such as decolonizing wealth, community-centric fundraising, and more.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS Elements of job duties may require occasional moving of up to 15 pounds and the ability to occasionally stoop, kneel, or crouch; candidates not able to meet such demands can possibly work with staff or others to enable compliance. The person in this position will communicate via email, telephone, and in-person with supporters, community members, and colleagues and must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations. COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS This position is full-time, exempt, and will pay an annual salary of between $52,500 and $57,499, depending on experience. Excellent benefits offered, including health, vision and dental insurance, short and long-term disability and life insurance, 401(k) retirement plan and employer matching, and generous vacation, holiday, sabbatical, and family and medical leave policies. Relocation reimbursements for actual moving expenses available up to $4,000, contingent on two years’ employment. A monthly reimbursement for personal mobile phone and utilities (including internet) is offered to all ACLU employees working remotely during the pandemic. The Development Associate will be based in Montana. If the finalist is not a Montana resident yet, we will discuss with the finalist a timeline for moving to MT within the first month of the start date. The position is currently remote with optional access to the Missoula office, including safety precautions in place for optional and required in-office work. Many of our staff currently work remotely with occasional in-office work since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. If the final candidate is not based in Missoula, the position will require occasional travel to Missoula for three-day trips per quarter (travel expenses paid for by the ACLU of Montana). APPLICATION PROCEDURE All applications are treated confidentially. Please submit (in pdf format if possible):

1. A letter (of no more than one page) describing your interest in the position and the ways in which you satisfy the qualifications specified above. Please indicate in your letter where you learned of this position.
2. Resume.

Email your application to jobs[at]aclumontana.org or mail it to: ACLU of Montana, Attn: Hiring, P.O. Box 1968, Missoula, MT 59806 Please put “Development Associate” in the subject line of your email / envelope. Applicants with Disabilities: Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process. Please advise in writing to jobs[at]aclumontana.org to request reasonable accommodation at the time of application. PROCESS Application review will start April 10, 2023. Applications after that date are encouraged and will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is removed from the ACLU-MT Job Openings page. We are aiming for a start date in May 2023. Our hiring process is managed by a dedicated hiring committee of three and HR. The committee will begin careful review of all applications on April 10, 2023. The steps for finalist selection include a screening call by HR staff, a videoconferencing interview with the hiring committee, an assessment/work sample exercise, a videoconferencing final interview, reference calls for the selected finalist, decision and making a job offer to the finalist candidate by May 19. We commit to regular communication with all applicants throughout the process, will apprise candidates of next steps as appropriate, and will promptly communicate any change in timeline above. To learn more about the work of the ACLU-MT, please visit www.aclumontana.org.